Plaça de Sant Felip Neri, square in Barcelona
Plaça de Sant Felip Neri is a small, cobblestone square in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter with a baroque church on one side and historic buildings surrounding it. An octagonal fountain, trees, and old architecture create the setting of this tucked-away space.
The square was built on the site of a medieval cemetery, and the church was constructed in the 1700s. During the Spanish Civil War in 1938, airstrikes destroyed much of the square and killed many people seeking shelter in the church, leaving visible scars on its walls.
The church of Sant Felip Neri dates from the 1700s and stands as one of Barcelona's few remaining baroque buildings. The square around it serves as a quiet gathering place where locals and visitors find refuge from the busy streets of the Gothic Quarter.
The square is small and easy to miss while walking through the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter, so it helps to look for it deliberately. There is little signage explaining the history, so visitors benefit from reading about the site beforehand or joining a guided tour.
The visible bullet and shrapnel marks on the church wall come from the bombing attacks in 1938 and were deliberately left unrepaired as a memorial. These scars serve as a quiet reminder for visitors about what happened at this location.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
